distraught

[dih-strawt]

adjective

1. distracted; deeply agitated.

2. mentally deranged; crazed.

distraught

/ dɪˈstrɔːt /

adjective

1. distracted or agitated

2. rare,  mad

Other Word Forms

• distraughtly adverb
• overdistraught adjective
• undistraught adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of distraught¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English variant of obsolete distract “distracted,” by association with straught, old past participle of stretch; distract

Word History and Origins

Origin of distraught¹

C14: changed from obsolete distract through influence of obsolete straught, past participle of _stretch

Example Sentences

“It’s my daughter, and I’m distraught, and she has been missing for 24 hours.”

From Los Angeles Times

“The kids was crying. People was screaming. They looked very distraught,” she told WLS Chicago, a local ABC affiliate.

From Salon

The two have come a long way from the beginning of the series when Usagi was distraught over her father’s untimely death, and when Arisu had no direction in life.

From Salon

"She said, 'I would rather die than be in this facility. May God just take me now'," recalled her distraught daughter-in-law, Manjit Kaur.

From BBC

Cooper runs the full acting gauntlet - veering from vulnerable to furious, cocky to distraught.

From BBC

Related Words

• agitated 
• anxious 
• concerned 
• confused 
• crazy 
• distressed 
• frantic 
• hysterical 
• mad 
• perturbed 
• tormented www.thesaurus.com
• troubled www.thesaurus.com